Read 1 Chronicles 23
The Levites
23 When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.
2 He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. 3 The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand. 4 David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand are to be in charge of the work of the temple of the Lord and six thousand are to be officials and judges. 5 Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose.”
6 David separated the Levites into divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
Gershonites
7 Belonging to the Gershonites:
Ladan and Shimei.
8 The sons of Ladan:
Jehiel the first, Zetham and Joel—three in all.
9 The sons of Shimei:
Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran—three in all.
These were the heads of the families of Ladan.
10 And the sons of Shimei:
Jahath, Ziza, Jeush and Beriah.
These were the sons of Shimei—four in all.
11 Jahath was the first and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; so they were counted as one family with one assignment.
Kohathites
12 The sons of Kohath:
Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel—four in all.
13 The sons of Amram:
Aaron and Moses.
Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to ministerbefore him and to pronounce blessings in his name forever. 14 The sons of Moses the man of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses:
Gershom and Eliezer.
16 The descendants of Gershom:
Shubael was the first.
17 The descendants of Eliezer:
Rehabiah was the first.
Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.
18 The sons of Izhar:
Shelomith was the first.
19 The sons of Hebron:
Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.
20 The sons of Uzziel:
Micah the first and Ishiah the second.
Merarites
21 The sons of Merari:
Mahli and Mushi.
The sons of Mahli:
Eleazar and Kish.
22 Eleazar died without having sons: he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.
23 The sons of Mushi:
Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth—three in all.
24 These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families as they were registered under their names and counted individually, that is, the workers twenty years old or more who served in the temple of the Lord. 25 For David had said, “Since the Lord, the God of Israel, has granted rest to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever, 26 the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service.” 27 According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more.
28 The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the temple of the Lord: to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God. 29 They were in charge of the bread set out on the table, the special flour for the grain offerings, the thin loaves made without yeast, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size. 30 They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening 31 and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on the Sabbaths, at the New Moonfeasts and at the appointed festivals. They were to serve before the Lordregularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them.
32 And so the Levites carried out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the Holy Place and, under their relatives the descendants of Aaron, for the service of the temple of the Lord.
Go Deeper
On the surface, 1 Chronicles 23 may appear dry to read, but below the surface it is anything but that. At the time of Israel’s history, King David was aging and ill. He declared Solomon as King even though his other son Adonijah was celebrating with his men the possibility of becoming the next King. Thankfully, the transition between brothers would be peaceful, and David honored his vow to Bathsheba declaring Solomon as King. Read 1 Kings 1:24-34 for a more in-depth view of these details.
The key verse for historical purposes is 1 Chronicles 23:25 which says, “The Lord God of Israel has given rest to His people, He dwells in Jerusalem forever.” The nation is now in Jerusalem and the Lord has revealed to David that his son Solomon would build the temple. David is now organizing the divisions and work of the Levites. The first part of the chapter sees David dividing the work of the Levites into 6 important duties:
- Overseers of the work of the “House of the Levites”
- Officers and Judges
- Gatekeepers
- Praising the Lord with instruments used and made by David (worship)
- Priest duties of the Sons of Aaron, Moses, and Amran set apart for the holy duties of ministry to the Lord
- Assist the priests above in their works in the tent of the Tabernacle
These divisions are sacred and civil appointments of the Levites, ordained by God through David, and now unto Solomon. The relationship seen here can be defined as “King unto Priest.” In reading this, we can see the parallel as Solomon will be building the Temple of Jerusalem with the directives and sacred organization from his father, King David. So, Jesus Christ came to build His temple within all of us with directives to follow that have sacred intent and purpose. The Levites each had important works, and so do each of us have significant purposes in the Kingdom of God.
It is obvious in this chapter that the sons of Aaron are called to be “separate” which means holy in their work and worship. The Levites are obviously called to aid the sons of Aaron in the many and varied jobs related to the temple works, duties to the people, and duties to the priests. We might see the obvious division of being both a worker and worshiper. We now have to ask ourselves, in the modern-day church, are we just workers and not worshippers or are we just worshippers and not workers?
The correct answer for us is that we are both. The Lord led organization of the temple duties is eerily similar to the church today. We must see ourselves as “separate” which means we are growing in our relationship with Christ and His Holiness. Galatians 2:20 says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and this life I live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” The natural progression of our faith will be like the Levites of the temple in that our enduring commitment to Christ will allow us to grow in His Holiness within. Then, we are invited to participate in and experience eternal significance in what we are asked to do. Finally, it is obvious that God desired the Levites and the sons of Aaron to have unity and fellowship as they worked side by side. He desires the same for us as our life in the church should be marked by holiness, enduring faith, and joyous fellowship as we work together to further the kingdom of God.
Now, we can read verse 30 of this rich chapter and echo the prayers of the Levites and the sons of Aaron in their daily duties and lives, “They are to stand every morning to thank the Lord, and, likewise, every evening.” May we all embrace His joy in serving our families, others and our church every morning and every evening with thanksgiving and praise to God for what He continues to do in our own lives and the life of the church!
Questions
- How do you think David felt passing on the building of the temple to his son Solomon?
- As you read through the duties of the Levites in the temple, how are they similar to the modern day church?
- How can you better integrate being both a worker and a worshipper in your own life?
A Quote
Matthew Henry’s commentary from the 18th century speaks to us perfectly about this chapter. He writes, “To the spiritual man every service will yield satisfaction. He will be ever abounding in the work of the Lord; being never so happy as when employed for such a good Master, in so pleasant a service.”
Leave a Comment below
Join the Team
Interested in writing for the Bible Reading Plan? Email [email protected].
7 responses to “1 Chronicles 23”
BUT GOD
He gave David the insight and wisdom needed to guide and direct the organization of the Temple. Who was going to do what, how it was to be done and even at what age.
“To look after the work of the house of the LORD: The temple was a busy place constantly flowing with worshippers, sacrifice, and service to God. It took many skilled people to take care of all the practical matters behind this activity.” Enduring Word
· To burn incense before the LORD: Incense is a picture of intercessory prayer. The priest had to represent the people before the Lord. “The fragrant incense stealing heavenward is a beautiful emblem of intercessory prayer. Let us pray more, not for ourselves so much as for others. This is the sign of growth in grace, when our prayers are fragrant with the names of friend and foe, and mingled with the coals of the golden altar.” (Meyer)
This picture was the most fascinating to me. I love this imagery.
David even in his old age was going to continue his journey to glorify and make God known. Us second half-ers still have purpose and duties to love on and encourage, hopefully with wisdom, the first half-ers.
God thank You for the beautiful words painted of intercessory prayer. Thank You as a believer I am a part of the “royal priesthood,” because I have a direct relationship with God through Jesus Christ, who is the High Priest. God thank You that I can come to You with all my thoughts, prayers and You listen, know and guide me to love. God thank You for calling me to be holy for You at tall times, “you . . . are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood . . .” (1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6). God thank You that You have called me to to be a light for the lost and to “‘Be holy, because I am holy.’” (1 Pet. 1:16) God may all I do and say, in these minutes of this day, glorifying and honoring You. God thank You for helping me in that constant state of prayer in these minutes today in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My mind immediately went back to chapter 21 when David ordered a census as a tribute to his own strength and power. Recall that scripture records in that instance that “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census”(21:1). God was testing David’s motive then. The census we read of today was totally different. David was looking forward to a future day when a Levitical rotation would be needed for temple worship. His motive was pure and pleasing to God. Here’s the challenge, our “why” matters to God. Roman’s 12:2 instructs us this way, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
28 “The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the temple of the Lord:”
As I read this passage today, I am struck by the fact that one’s lineage, one’s gender, etc. determined one’s vocation. It is so antithetical to today’s mindset of “you can be anything you want to be!”. In application, I need to think less of my own ambitions and think more of knowing my assignment!
In application, I need to think less of my own ambitions and think more of knowing my assignment!
This struck a chord in me too, Erik!
Yes!
David’s organization of the Levites was intentional and purposeful, reflecting a life lived with direction. We are encouraged to live purposefully, aligning our actions with God’s will.
Ephesians 5:15-16 Encourages, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
My first thought on reading this chapter was, “it seems like we’ve been here before!” (Anyone else get a little déjà vu today?)
Then I remembered a lot of 1 and 2 Chronicles is repeated elsewhere in the Old Testament (e.g., 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings) – same history, different perspective. Today’s chapter reflects the priestly instructions in Numbers 4, which also details the census and service age for the Levites.
But while the job qualifications may have shifted slightly — God’s sovereignty had not. He continued to assign certain people to certain roles.
2BeLilkeChrist offers this commentary:
“Roles in religious life aren’t a bad thing, in fact they are a God-ordained thing.
The Levites didn’t protest the role God gave them. They weren’t walking around saying, “I can offer sacrifices better than Aaron’s sons, I don’t want to prep the holy bread anymore, I want to be a priest.”
They didn’t have that right, because God restricted who could fill the priestly roles.
But what about equality? Shouldn’t everyone have had equal opportunity to become a priest?
No!
God wasn’t interested in equality of opportunity. Unfortunately, many families and churches have elevated the virtue of equality above God’s word, assigning people to roles God restricts them from taking.
Equality has never been God’s chief aim. The roles God has assigned to His creation are for the good of creation. The roles God has assigned to His Church are for the good of the Church.”
God has always had the perfect plan for “who does what.”
The longer I spend in God’s service, though, I find myself thinking less about job DESCRIPTIONS — and more about job QUALIFICATIONS.
2 Timothy 2 describes these as follows:
“If anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable, he will be a special instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
-2 Timothy 2:21 HCSB
In other words, today’s actions… can determine tomorrow’s assignments. So any time I’m tempted to give God “less than my best,” it helps to keep these words before me.
That way, WHATEVER good work God may assign me, I will be prepared, productive… and set apart to sacred purpose.